


phases of the game

by thirixm



Category: Chess - Rice/Ulvaeus/Andersson
Genre: M/M, Reunions, ik anatoly had more than one child but what if, original male character but he only appears like twice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 05:16:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29183880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thirixm/pseuds/thirixm
Summary: Natalya Sergievsky learned chess at seven years old when Russia was still referred to as the Soviet Union and when her father, Anatoly Sergievsky, was travelling the world to attend tournaments instead of spending time with his family.
Relationships: (minor) Anatoly Sergievsky/Svetlana Sergievsky, Anatoly Sergievsky/Frederick Trumper
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	phases of the game

**I. OPENING**  
Natalya learned chess at seven years old when Russia was still referred to as the Soviet Union and when her father, Anatoly Sergievsky, was travelling the world to attend tournaments instead of spending time with his family. She meets Molokov when he was first appointed his second but she avoids his intimidating presence in favour of telling her father goodbye. He says he’ll be back soon.

When he’s gone, he’s never gone for more than a week or two. He always brings back a little souvenir and his scoresheets so they can replay the games together at the dining table even though her mother doesn’t really like it. She learns from the best, but maybe learns more from his opponents rather than Anatoly.

“You make a lot of waiting moves, papa,” she says.

“Sometimes it’s difficult to see a clear advantage. It’s necessary to make waiting moves sometimes, Natalya. You have to be patient.”

She decides she doesn’t like the way he plays, but she also found the way he plays makes his responses more adaptable to his opponent’s attacks. She later finds out this is true when he leaves for Merano to play off against Freddie Trumper and is able to rebuttal his sharp plays. She isn’t allowed to read the newspaper, but she steals a page that reviews all of their matches.

Anatoly doesn’t come home that year and her mother, to her credit, does not seem bothered, but Natalya knows she is. Molokov comes over more often and talking with her mother. She continues to avoid him, somehow convinced he’s the one who has failed Anatoly, not the other way around. She finds remnants of him in the games they used to play, so she plays them again on her own and finds the mistakes he would usually point out.

She begins entering tournaments. Molokov says her mother is going to Bangkok to get her father back, but she isn’t allowed to go. She’s away from home more often than not, then starts to understand why her father continuously chases after temporary victories. She wants to be him, in a way. Just a little bit better.

Her father comes home with her mother and a woman she doesn’t know. She apologizes, excessively it seems by the way her mother almost expected it, and shows her to the guest room without much hassle. Anatoly can’t look her in the eyes but she’s not mad. She shows him the scoresheets she’s been collecting from her matches and they play. She doesn’t ask him questions because the woman she doesn’t know is in the same room and she feels like they still have something personal to resolve together.

She introduces herself as Florence Vassy and is only around until she can find her father.

“What will you do when they find him?” she asks.

“I’m not sure,” Florence says, but she still has hope in the way she smiles at the prospect of seeing him again.

Florence is gone before she knows it. Anatoly doesn’t stay for much longer either and there’s no way of hiding anything anymore. He and her mother separated and he left for America as if he will find part of himself there somewhere. Natalya becomes old enough to travel to local tournaments alone. She doesn’t want to be home anymore.

**II. MIDDLEGAME**  
Natalya meets the requirements of grandmaster at age 18 and has ignored all the knowing stares that come with keeping Sergievsky as a surname. She doesn’t know why her mother never changed it, maybe to still keep part of him in their family. The only hassle she finds from it is getting asked about it in interviews.

“Did you know your father, Anatoly Sergievsky?”

“Not for very long, but I did. He’s a respectable player. I still go through his games sometimes.”

She evades personal questions. Questions that have nothing to do with chess. She finds interviewers to be too intrusive and curses being a small public figure when all she wanted to be was a chess player.

She meets Dmitri Ivanovich during a match in Venice who she defeated in seven out of nine games. He becomes her travel partner and they often switch between English and Russian. It feels like home sometimes.

“Most chess players have a bitter backstory,” he says. “Like when the hero sees his father die in front of his eyes, you know? And then he has an arc about taking revenge on the villain who did it.”

“That is a tad dramatic for a chess player.”

“Okay, well! Think of it metaphorically! Maybe you’re still playing chess because you want to find your dad and get some closure on where he is and what’s he doing. He clearly hasn’t stopped chess.”

She smiles, but shakes her head. “I’m tired of this conversation.” 

She can’t deny some of it was the truth. She would like to know what Anatoly is doing. The only time he appears in the news now is when he wins or loses the world championship and it only happens annually. She knows he’s playing for America now, so he must’ve found something that kept him there.

She’s invited to the Bulgaria championship a year after Anatoly reclaims the title. She appoints Dmitri as her second with months to prepare.

“He’s been getting risky with openings in the last couple of years,” Dmitri says, setting up the chessboard. “I think his main second is Trumper now. They’re like water and oil, it’s kind of hard to believe.”

“We should consider some unsound openings and gambits.”

“Sergievsky doesn’t play gambits though, does he? Not often, anyway. We’ll start with a few plausible ones and go from there.”

**III. ENDGAME**  
Natalya is 20 when she attends the Bulgaria world championship. They shake hands and take their seats. She opens with king's pawn and Anatoly responds with Alekhine.

She catches a glimpse of the silver ring around his finger and she guesses Freddie has become more than his second at some point. She supposes it was right to look into unlikely plays. She knows Anatoly. That is to say, she knew him and how he played when she was young. She knows enough to know when he decides to become unpredictable.

Anatoly doesn’t leave his seat on her time. He looks like he has a lot to say, but unable to say them. She doubts the championship means a lot to him, but losing to a petty reason like talking would be ridiculous for him and his reputation. She ponders over the board while he tries not to stare too much. His presence tilts her nonetheless but she makes a move and is out of her chair to take a walk.

Anatoly considers every variation. His hand rests on his cheek and his eyes flicker over the pieces. They’re almost equal in time on the clock. He isn’t an aggressive player, she knows that much. She can almost see him struggle to capture Freddie’s playstyle while incorporating his own.

This is the first time she’s competing against him in since she was a child. She remembers being defeated five times in a row but she wasn’t a grandmaster then. She’s hardly reaching her peak now, but it’s difficult to remember a time where she fell for his sacrifices disguised as blunders. Their match lasts for five hours and Anatoly resigns with the relief that she won’t be chasing his king around the board.

They sit there like they used to when she was a child. They discuss their games and the moves they played that could’ve been better.

They meet again at the hotel dining room for more casual banter. He doesn’t bring Freddie, but he mentions he’s here with him. She supposes they can meet another time, but she and him are long overdue.

“How is Svetlana?” he asks.

“Well. I still do my best to call her but time zones can become an issue sometimes. She’s getting out more. It’s good for her.”

“I’m sure.” He smiles, but a tinge of melancholy edges his lips.

Neither of them understand how to approach each other. Chess allowed them to be busy with the pieces, and maybe Natalya is substituting that with putting sugar cubes in her coffee, but beyond that, they don’t know what to do, nor where to look.

“Florence… did she ever find her father?” she asks.

“Florence - no. No, she didn’t. He turned up dead.”

Natalya nods. As expected, she assumes, but still holding out onto hope until the bitter end. Then she says, “I’m not mad.”

Anatoly looks at her. He sees Svetlana in those sharp, blue eyes but she’s always taken after her father with her messy hair. She’s a product of love that no longer exists, but Natalya still loves them both and so long as he loves Freddie, she will love him too. He soaks in her words and looks away briefly to prevent from crying prematurely.

“You should join me and Freddie for dinner. He’d love to meet you.” He’s beaming, and just barely doing a good job of holding it back.

“No chess talk,” her only request.

Anatoly laughs. “We have much more to talk about than chess.”


End file.
